Chapter Text
It’s about time this place got a decent coffee shop, Ori thought as he entered the newly occupied building. Burnt Normal is what the sign on the front read, and Ori couldn’t help but feel at home in the indie coffee shop. The owners’ art lined the walls, and the rich smell of fair trade coffee filled his nose. Yep, this was definitely a place he would wind up more often than not. There was a certain modern feel to it; it was a difficult enough atmosphere to find in a rural area.
He could hear someone moving around in the back. The door had a bell, though, and Ori was confident whoever it was had heard him come in. He stood by the counter, looking at the menu for slightly longer that strictly needed while waiting for service, at which point he noticed a bicycle covered in newspaper (or was it made out of newspaper?) hanging from the ceiling. You definitely couldn’t accuse the owners of not being artsy.
“Hello?” he called after another minute of waiting. He assumed that whoever was working had something very important to do, but it’s possible they simply didn’t hear him come in.
“So sorry! Just one moment and I’ll be with you,” came the reply. Sounded like a man in his early twenties, or around Ori’s age. Just great. That age group was essentially the easiest way to turn Ori into an awkward, flailing mess. Especially if this mystery man turned out to be attractive.
As the waiting continued, he noticed that the label on the cookies the size of his hands read “Big Ol’ Man Cookies.” So not only were they refreshingly modern, they were also funny. That’s always a sweet combination.
“I’m honestly so sorry about that, I was just having a bit of a battle with the oven out back,” the man began. Long, dark hair and a five o’clock shadow accompanied by a chiseled jaw and intense eyes greeted Ori, and suddenly any frustration he may have felt by being kept waiting melted away. The man’s own eyes also brightened as he took in the sight of Ori. “A new customer, I see! Then again, most customers are new at the moment.” After a slight pause, he added, “But not all of them are this cute,” with a cheeky grin. And, of course, Ori blushed. He couldn’t help it! The most attractive man he’d ever seen in his small, conservative town was flirting. Or at least, Ori thought he was flirting. He honestly didn’t have much experience with it.
“Yes, well,” he began eloquently. “I was just enjoying the décor. Are you the owner?”
“Can’t say that I am. That would be my uncle and his wife, but they’re having their day off today. Did you have a question for them, or were you going to order so I can give you a discount on it?” Again with that grin. Ori was hoping it would continue to make an appearance.
“Well, the ‘liquid apple pie’ looks tasty just based on the title,” Ori began.
“It’s cider, just FYI,” the man interjected, and at this point Ori realized he didn’t know his name.
“Well then I’ll have a medium liquid apple pie.” As the man rang up the order, he added, “I’m Ori, by the way.”
“Kíli.”
“Are you from around here? Most faces are pretty recognizable in an area this small.”
“I grew up here, but moved away in middle school. I’m actually on summer break from university right now. First year over and done with.” Having taken that time to pour Ori’s cider, he passed him the drink. Size large. Well, he certainly delivered on that promise for a discount.
“Any university I’ve heard of?” Ori asked a bit cheekily, but inside he was frantically searching for the source of all this confidence.
“LMU. Pretty common choice, I’ll admit, but it serves my needs. Not many can.” He arched an eyebrow and Ori was left floundering. This wasn’t just flirting, this was innuendo. And while Ori wished he had been able to come up with a witty reply, he ended up smiling way too widely and blushing. On the bright side, Kíli’s smile morphed from predatorial to endeared, so Ori didn’t count it as an outright fail.
Just as Ori was about to change the topic, maybe to ask about the bookcase lining one of the walls, a chiptune version of Call Me Maybe erupted from his phone.
“Oh, shit, that’s my mom,” Ori muttered, and Kíli barked in laughter.
“Cute ringtone,” he commented. Ori so desperately wanted to be able to explain that his brother changed it, and that his music taste wasn’t quite so deplorable (which would be a little bit of a lie because he had a soft spot for chiptune anything), but the fact remained that his overprotective mother had been waiting four rings for him to pick up and overall this initial interaction with Kíli was not going as well as it could have.
“Hey mom, what’s up?” He began, and his mother immediately began worriedly ranting about Ori being out for too long without warning her and scolding him for being so careless. The whole time, he tried to calmly inform her that he was going home, but staying true to form, she wouldn’t relent until she was done saying everything she needed to. When it finally seemed the barrage of words had stopped, Ori simply said, “Okay mom, yes, I’ll be home in 10,” and hung up.
“Protective?” Kíli asked sympathetically. As Ori smiled and nodded, Kíli said, “While I’m disappointed to see you go, I wouldn’t be the one to mess with a vigilant mother.”
Ori turned to go with a regretful pout, and just as he was about to leave he heard Kíli call almost frantically from behind him, “I work every day except Sunday. And chiptunes are one of my favourite forms of music,” and not knowing how to respond, Ori closed the door behind him and let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding.
This was going to be an interesting summer.